February is Black History Month. We’d like to encourage you to learn more about Black history and celebrate the events and contributions that Black people have made to all sectors of society.
Over the next few weeks, we’ll be sharing events and information with you regarding Black history. The first is an event being sponsored by the North Bay Multicultural Centre on Wednesday, February 3rd at 6:30 pm “Black Canadians: Contributions and Historical Figures”. This is a virtual round table with panelists including Dr. Amadou Ba, who gave the first NUFA Virtual Teach-in this past fall, and a visit with the Honourable Ahmed Hussen, Minister of Families, Children and Social Development.
We’ve put together a list of recommended readings from the Harris Learning Library, the North Bay Public Library, links to the Ottawa and Toronto Public Libraries, and also some children’s books.
Books recommended by (and available at) the North Bay Public Library:
With the Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo
You’ll Never Believe What Happened to Lacey by Amber Ruffin and Lacey Lamar
Books recommended by (and available at) the Harris Learning Library [call number in brackets]:
Policing Black Lives: State Violence in Canada from Slavery to the Present by Robin Maynard [FC106 .B6 M39 2017]
The Black Atlantic: Modernity and Double Consciousness by Paul Gilroy [CB235 .G55 1993]
So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo [E184 .A1 O454 2018]
Working for Freedom: The Story of Josiah Henson by Rona Arato [E444 .H526 A73 2008]
African Canadians in Union Blue: Volunteering for the Cause in the Civil War by Richard M. Reid [E540 .C25 R45 2014b]
North of the Color Line: Migration and Black Resistance in Canada, 1870 – 1955 by Sarah-Jane Mathieu [FC106 .B6 M318 2010]
Black Canadians: History, Experiences, Social Conditions by Joseph Mensah [FC106 .B6 M45 2010]
Viola Desmond’s Canada: A History of Black and Racial Segregation in the Promised Land by Graham Reynolds. Foreward by George Elliot Clarke with Wanda Robson [FC106 .B6 R49 2016]
Black Loyalists: Southern Settlers of Nova Scotia’s First Free Black Communities by Ruth Holmes Whitehead [FC2321.4 .W55 2013]
Race on Trial: Black Defendants in Ontario’s Criminal Courts, 1858-1958 by Barrington Walker [KEO1167.5 .W35 2010]
Recommendations from the Ottawa Public Library:
https://biblioottawalibrary.ca/en/blogs/black-history-month-canadian-black-history-making
Recommendations from the Toronto Public Library:
Children’s Books:
The Canadian Children’s Book Centre has created a listing for educators and librarians:
http://bookcentre.ca/theme-guide-black-history-month
Scholastic Canada:
http://scholastic.ca/books/seasonal/blackhistory/
Howdy, I’m John Ware – Animated Children’s Book